Rock Band: The Beatles

The release on 09/09/09 of the new “Rock Band: The Beatles” is, well, the music event of the year. As John Lennon might say, the game might be bigger than Jesus. That is, it'll be huge for at least for two groups: those who thrill to the vicarious rush of the Rock Band or Guitar Hero series (you can already play group-centric titles like Guitar Hero: Metallica or Rock Band: AC/DC)—and those who live and breathe The Fab Four. As for those who fall under both of those categories? Um, what’s bigger than bigger than Jesus?

John, Paul, George, and Ringo are the sacred names of pop music, so it’s not surprising that the creation of this extremely complicated high-tech product took years of design, research, and development. Not to mention consultation with band members and their families, as well as requisite legal hurdles. (A recent piece in WIRED covers the painstaking process of making “Rock Band: The Beatles.”)

The result, however, is stunning. Take a look at the graphics in this preview.

Fab Four fan or not, it will be tough to resist the temptation to playact The Beatles' entire career with your friends (or your parents, or grandparents). And with the timing of the early September release, it makes quite a back-to-school gift. In fact, let your parents know that. Perhaps they’ll want to play as badly as you will.